When a vehicle is collided with from the side (hereinafter referred to as a “side collision” or “side impact”), or from the front (hereinafter referred to as a “front collision” or “frontal impact”), an occupant tends to move in the direction of the collision (towards the side or towards the front) relative to the vehicle, due to inertia. In order to suppress such movement of the occupant in the direction of the collision, an airbag is installed in a center portion of a steering wheel in the case of a driver seat and in a front portion of the vehicle, such as above an instrument panel, in the case of a front passenger seat. Further, in order to reliably suppress movement of the occupant in the direction of a side collision, a curtain airbag apparatus is installed in a side portion of the vehicle and/or a side airbag is installed inside a seat, etc.
Further, on considering side collisions from the perspective of the occupant, there are two types of collision, i.e. a collision from a side close to oneself (a near side) and a collision from a side further from oneself (a far side). In the case of a far side collision, for example, the occupant moves significantly towards the center of a vehicle width direction (the far side) due to inertia during the far side collision, such that there is a risk of the occupant colliding with an occupant in an adjacent seat or with a hard interior component inside a vehicle cabin.
On the assumption of such a situation, far side airbag apparatuses (vehicle occupant protection apparatuses) have been developed which deploy between two seats arranged side by side in a vehicle width direction, represented by a driver seat and a front passenger seat, of a vehicle cabin as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 2008-126783, 2008-155904, 2011-46308, and 2011-116153. A far side airbag apparatus causes a cushion to inflate and deploy in an upward direction from a center console between a driver seat and a front passenger seat, thereby protecting an occupant that has moved towards a far side.
However, depending on the circumstances of a collision, there are also cases in which an occupant moves towards a space between the airbag installed in the front portion of the vehicle and the curtain airbag installed in the side portion of the vehicle (in an obliquely forward direction). In such a case, the occupant may slip between the airbag installed in the front portion of the vehicle and the curtain airbag installed in the side portion of the vehicle due to there being nothing to restrain the occupant. As a result, there is concern that the occupant may collide with an interior component inside the vehicle.
Further, depending on the type of vehicle, there may not be a center console. In such a vehicle type, it is common for the vehicle cabin floor between the driver seat and the front passenger seat to form a passage on which an occupant can walk and move. However, as there is no center console, a far side airbag apparatus cannot be provided and, further, the pelvis region of an occupant cannot be restrained by the center console. As a result, a problem exists in that an amount of movement of the pelvis region of an occupant towards a far side during a collision is larger than in a vehicle which has a center console. There is, in this case also, concern that an occupant could collide with an interior component inside the vehicle or, further, collide with an occupant in an adjacent seat.
In view of such a problem, an object of the present invention is to provide an airbag apparatus that is capable of protecting an occupant by restraining movement of the occupant in an obliquely forward direction and towards a far side during a collision.